The Things I Intended to Do in September

So in September I blogged about 5 things I intended to do that month. The fact that I'm just getting back to reviewing the list, does not bode well for my success, but let's find out.

1. Finish Mouse--I just finished writing and posting Mouse this month. Like an occasionally wise and almost always adorable pop star once said sometimes you've just got to let the nectar marinate. Except he said nectah, cuz he's incapable of pronouncing the letter 'r'. Finishing Mouse was something I delayed intentionally because after nearly twenty years of writing fiction I'm finally beginning to learn when what I've written is crap. And what I had written was. I'm mostly satisfied with the end product and it seems like my readers are, too. So, while I "failed" at this September goal, it doesn't really feel like a failure. 

2. Start my NaNoWriMo research--This I accomplished and then some. If you ever decide to take the leap of masochism that is NaNoWriMo, be sure to check out Larry Brooks' StoryFix blog. It is ingenious for anyone who is a plotter (or any pantser who realizes what an exercise in frustration pantsing is. Not that I know anyone like that.) Last year I started NaNoWriMo with a very vague idea of what I wanted to write. This year, I started with a three ring binder complete with color-coded tabs and nearly 100 pages of research and notes. By the end of the month I was on my way to something that might potentially be publishable once it's completed. (I've put it away to marinate for now.)

3. Get to Book 40 on my 50 YA Novels in 2011 list--another one I actually accomplished. Woo! Go me! **pats self on back**

4. Step away from the computer (and computer-related cell phone tasks) at least one day a week--I'm not exactly sure how much screw-top wine I consumed before writing this goal. I think maybe I accomplished this one day in the entire month and that there were somewhat annoying consequences as a result. Sometimes you do need a techno-break, though. I certainly took my share in November when I was in the throws of NaNo. But sometimes the computer is the break you need from reality. 

5. Finish organizing and cleaning my creative space--this didn't happen, but for good reason. We found out in November that we are expecting our first child. So the creative space is now going to become the nursery. So, while it still needs to be cleaned and organized, it's been delayed until we figure out how/what we'll need. Also until the child stops making me violently ill 24-hours a day. (Morning sickness, my ass.) 

Maybe I should do a blog on 100 things I've done to avoid accomplishing goals I've set for myself, because that's a challenge I could totally accomplish!